


Beso

by Merlin Missy (mtgat)



Category: Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World
Genre: Coming of Age, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 08:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2806334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mtgat/pseuds/Merlin%20Missy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riley's first kisses remind Topanga of good times past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beso

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kharasma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kharasma/gifts).



It happened on the thirteenth of February in front of her locker.

Class had just let out. Her dad wanted them to read about pivotal court cases that changed the social landscape. He'd made a joke like _Kramer vs Kramer_ , and he'd been serious when he'd told them about _Loving vs Virginia_. Riley hadn't even known marriage could be illegal. She pictured forbidden loves, fighting against faceless government foes. Tripping over her own romantic fantasies, she stumbled into Lucas, who helpfully set her aright against her locker.

"Better be careful." He smiled at her, and he had the best smile Riley'd ever seen. Something about him always made her flutter from her heart all the way down to her toes.

"That depends. Will you always catch me when I fall?"

"I can't make that promise. But I can try."

She laughed uneasily, and (she hoped) not shrilly. "Well, then you can … " What she meant to say flew out of her head as her feet slipped out right from under her and she fell again. True to his sort-of promise, Lucas grabbed hold of her before she smacked her head against the floor. Riley gasped from the spill, the sudden stop, and the feel of his arms around her.

Leaning over this way, and her head still swimming, Riley shifted her weight to pull herself back up, and only happened to wind up with her face next to his. The kiss was so close as to be nearly accidental. He barely brushed her mouth with his lips, and she was too shocked and nervous to do much beyond breathe him in.

"Was that your moment?" she asked, and yes, now she really did sound a bit shrill. Her lungs were tight but her feet danced on air.

"It was."

"What moment?" said Riley's dad, suddenly standing six inches away and looking his usual combination of stern and terrified. Had he seen? He'd probably seen. Was he mad? He was probably mad.

Lucas carefully edged away from Riley while trying not to look like he was edging away. "I needed a moment of Riley's time to ask about our assignment."

"Good," said Dad, the furrow at his brow relaxing. "Good work." Daddy turned to her. "Riley, I want you to carry this." He held out his hand, and Riley stuck out her arm. He dropped a pebble into her hand.

"What's this?"

"Lucky stone. It's Friday the Thirteenth. I don't want anything bad happening to you today." He glanced at Lucas, who looked even more angelic than usual.

"Thanks, Daddy." Riley slipped the stone into her pocket. Daddy kept standing there, staring at her. "Did you need something?"

"No." He stared at Lucas and didn't move.

Lucas said, finally, "I'll see you in class, Mr. Matthews." He nodded at Riley and walked off.

"Nice boy," said Daddy. "Too nice. I don't like him."

"Yes, you do."

Daddy sighed. "Yeah, I do."

* * *

Maya caught her before their next class. "And?"

"And what?" Riley could play this cool.

"Lucas kissed you. First kiss that wasn't Farkle."

"That didn't count."

"And?"

Riley had felt the blush crawling up her dress, and waited for the crimson splash over her face. "It was perfect."

Maya grinned. "Did he do a cowboy hoot when he was done?"

"Teasing him only works when he's here."

Maya snapped her fingers in dismay. "You're right. So, how did it go?"

Riley clasped her hands together. "I swooned into his arms."

"Slipped again?"

"Yeah."

Maya sighed. "You know how it should have gone, right?"

"Candlelight stroll, moonlight dinner, chocolates, and dancing?"

Her friend grinned at her. "That's my girl, always a little backwards. No, what it should have been was this." She stepped closer to Riley, staring into her eyes. Then she slipped her hands against Riley's cheeks, stroking her round face with the tips of her fingers before brushing her hair back. Maya pushed her face against Riley's, tilting in for the perfect press of mouth against mouth, her own lips parting only enough for Riley to taste the last lingering flavor of her gum.

Maya stepped away. "See, it should have been like that."

"Um. Yeah," she said, blinking. "That would have been good, too."

Maya turned away, grabbing her hand. "Come on, we'll be late." Riley let her lead the way to math, her lips still a little tingly.

* * *

The apartment door opened. "Mom?"

Topanga focused on her book. "Yes, honey?"

Riley set her bag down and sat on the couch, forcing Topanga to move a little. She was getting bigger every day. Her little girl, who'd been so tiny in her arms the day she was born, was rapidly approaching adult size.

"I need to ask you about kissing."

Topanga closed the book and set it down. Bookmarks could wait. "About what?"

"Kissing. And love. And how you know who the right one is."

They'd had preliminary versions of The Talk. Riley had enough grasp of the dynamics to greet most of them with "Ew." This didn't sound like that talk. "What's on your mind?"

"Lucas kissed me today."

Topanga took a breath. "Three things. First, did you want him to or did he just grab you and kiss you?"

Riley gave the same cute smile she always did when talking about that boy. "Wanted."

"Okay. Two, do not tell your father."

"Why?"

"Because he thinks you're six."

"Given."

"Third, how was it?"

Riley flopped back against the couch. "Amazing. Perfect. And then Maya kissed me, and it was also amazing and perfect. Mom, I love them both. Maya's my best friend. And Lucas is … " She got the smile again, then dropped her voice. "Lucas."

"Right."

"But if I love both of them, how does that even work out? And will Daddy get mad if I love Maya? He never lets Uncle Eric and Uncle Steve visit us." She frowned.

Topanga snorted. "Riley, that's not your dad. The Fire Marshal and the building owner both made us sign a contract agreeing Eric wasn't allowed within five hundred feet of the building ever again." They'd been lucky they weren't evicted.

"It was one time."

"It was twenty thousand dollars in property damage."

"Okay, okay. But still. Would Daddy be upset if I was in love with Maya?" She looked down and away, then back at Topanga. "Would you?"

"Honey, trust me. We will be happy no matter who you love."

"What if that's both of them?"

* * *

"I'll be back," is the first thing Shawn says about the trip, and their first warning that he's leaving at all.

Topanga has done nothing for the past two weeks except eat, drink, and sleep her bar exam study. Too many people fail this the first time, and the second. She wants to finish it on her first try, wants to be the best. Bleary, she looks up from her textbook to watch Cory, the love of her life, the light of her days, the man she chose to spend the rest of her life with, completely lose his shit at the mere thought of his best friend leaving town for a few days.

"What what what? What do you mean you're leaving?"

"I said I'd be back," Shawn says, tugging out his travel bag, the battered black one holds a change of clothes and a ton of film. "It's a great opportunity. There's a tour group traveling through Ukraine. I have a contact who's going to get me through to the old Chernobyl site.

Topanga's attention is drawn away from her books. Torts drop by the wayside. "Chernobyl? That's dangerous."

"No, it's fine. We'll stay on the road and avoid spending too much time in the zone."

This is more than Cory can take. As Shawn grabs clothes to pack, Cory removes them again. Shawn gets that face, the annoyed one he wears whenever being roommates with the two of them gets to be too much. "Core, it's cool. It's the chance of a lifetime."

"It's Europe," Topanga says. Shawn stops, and without looking at her, nods. "Europe is enormous, Shawn. You won't just casually bump into Angela."

"I know." He doesn't sound like he knows. He sounds like he's making himself believe she'll be there for him, waiting at the airport, instead of off with new people learning new things and speaking languages even Topanga doesn't.

When Shawn removes his extra film cannisters, Topanga frowns. "You're buying the digital?"

"The one I wanted went on sale." He gestured to the lump of his coat on their secondhand couch, and she notices it's lumpier than usual. 

Cory, momentarily distracted from his fears that his best friend will come back glowing in the dark, bounds over to the couch and grabs the new camera. "Oooo. How does it work?"

Shawn snatches it from him before Cory's famous electronics curse hits. "What are you, six?"

"Take my picture!" Cory grins like a maniac, all teeth and kind of scary. Topanga loves him, but wow.

"Take mine," she says, closing the textbook with a snap. She's too tired to study, and Shawn is leaving. He'll be back. Of course he'll be back. But the time will come when he doesn't come back, when he goes on a photography trip and never returns. She adjusts her sweater and takes her hair out of the ponytail.

The boys look at her. Shawn's already got his arty face on, the one looking for light levels and contrasts. Cory's got his usual face on, too, where he's trying to see down her top. While Shawn is gone, they will have alone time in the apartment. Couch sex, shower sex, and carpet sex are all in her immediate future. She's not complaining, and Cory's already scouting for horizontal spaces to defile before Shawn gets home.

"Over here," Shawn says, yanking his coat off the couch and moving the pillows. The buff and soda-stained pattern of their couch is offset by the battered brown pillows. Her sweater is a blue cardigan, with a nice white chemise beneath. The colors will pop against the cheap red curtain behind her. 

Topanga sits, tousling her hair artfully over her shoulders. She smiles just before the first snap of the camera. She tilts her head, twisting a little as Shawn moves, looking for angles. They've done this before: light and shadow, and the glare of his bulbs as she pouts or laughs. She's his favorite model.

The sweater and chemise are too hot. "Hold on. Turn." The boys turn enough for her to yank off both before putting the sweater back on. "Okay." From the looks she gets, this is a good outfit. The cardigan drapes over her bust. She can see Shawn thinking about how best to light the dark cleft dipping between her breasts.

He snaps again, as Cory takes a seat, watching them both. Shawn gets closer with the camera, observing her as a piece, practicing with his new settings, mumbling about sepia and stills. She wonders how long is left until there are no more random photos left drying in their little bathroom, replaced with pixel and click. It's a new world. He zooms in close on her face, practically breathing her as he takes more photos.

"Thanks," he says, popping a kiss against her cheek as he backs away. Her hand stops him. "Okay, I'll get another close-up."

"No," she says, watching him, and watching Cory eat both of them up with his eyes. "Do that again."

Shawn doesn't play stupid. He bends in for another kiss on her cheek, and she moves her lips to meet him. It's soft and it's inviting. "Topanga."

"Tell me you don't love us both."

He smiles, and it's sad and hard. "You two are married."

Cory's already walked over. "And you were there, standing up with us." His hand is on Shawn's arm. He's going to miss Shawn so much, even for the short days and weeks he's away. Topanga has always known she's not the only one her husband loves best.

Cory is a clumsy kisser. She loves him, and he's getting better. It's weird to watch him lean over to Shawn, weird to see him take Shawn's chin in his hand and draw him in for a kiss, and weird that it's not weird at all. This is where they were all always supposed to be.

"I'm leaving in the morning," Shawn says, not meeting his eyes.

Topanga takes the camera from his hand and sets it carefully on the coffee table where it won't get damaged. "That leaves us at least one night."

* * *

Topanga watched her daughter's face. Anyone could see she was Cory Matthews's child, full of his smiles and his optimism. She knew how easily Riley could have been Shawn's, could have bonded the three of them permanently instead of forcing him to believe he should shut himself out of their lives lest he destroy their happiness. She'd made peace with the fact that he'd gone. Cory still believed he'd come home someday and stay, as he should.

Now Riley was setting her feet on that same road. If she was very, very lucky, she'd keep all her loves together.

"It's fine, honey," Topanga told her, stroking her hair. "You can love as many people as your heart can hold. And your heart is pretty big."

Riley hugged her impulsively. Topanga kissed her head.


End file.
